As a country fan since the early ’90s, I have to say … it’s good to have Aaron Tippin back.

I went to his concert Friday night at Hooligans in Jacksonville, and it was awesome. Tippin is one of the artists who I used to listen to when I first started to like country music. He is one of the artists who drew me into the genre. And I have never found my way out since.

The opening band, The Mikele Buck Band, was really great. I had never heard of them before. Apparently, they are all from around Eastern NC. Check them out if they are playing at a club near you.  

I had never seen Tippin in concert before, and it has been a while since he has had a single on radio (about 9 or 10 years). But, after seeing him in concert that night, it is clear that he is back and hasn’t lost his touch in writing music or performing it.

His performance was fun and extremely entertaining. He opened with his first single off of his new album, “Ready To Rock (In A Country Kinda Way),” followed by an old hit of his, “I Got It Honest.”

During his hit “Working Man’s Ph.D.,” Tippin sang the song while pulling out a tool box and putting together a children’s bicycle. He had the bike together before the song was over, and wanted it to be the first toy donated to the next Toys for Tots program. Because in Tippin’s words, “It isn’t Christmas unless every child has a toy.”

Tippin ended his energetic performance with another one of his huge hits that is still played on country radio often, “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With The Radio.”

The audience called Tippin back for more. And, he was pleased to oblige. During his two encore songs, he brought out his signature American flag guitar and sang “Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly.”

Tippin made some comment about the Dixie Chicks (which I totally agree with), and ended the night with his hit, “Kiss This.”

It was a great concert. One of the better performers I have seen. He was energetic, and his friendly, easy-going personality that came out onstage seemed totally genuine.

Shown here are a few pics from the concert. I actually got some really great ones. There will be a video of my pics from the concert under the MAX MEDIA section on www.maxmag.com, as well as pics of Tippin fans who attended the concert under the MAX-imum Xposure part of the site. And, somewhere will be a couple live video feeds that I took of the concert with permission from Tippin’s label.

Make sure you go to www.maxmag.com and check it all out. It should all be up by Thursday.